In our first installment, we covered the big guns in the world of piano sonatas. Now let’s move on to those that aren’t heard as frequently, but are noteworthy. Some are by composers with much better known works, some are by little known composers. Either way, you’ll sound like you really know your stuff with this continuation of your crash course in piano sonatas.

In moving beyond the crème de la crème of piano sonata composers, it might help to further classify or organize the music by era or style, or even nationality. For now, let’s start with musical eras.

From the Classical era, we’ll start with the sonatas of the Spanish monk Antonio Soler. As you might guess, his sonatas follow closely from those of Domenico Scarlatti, but Soler also used newer sounding harmonies and forms. There is still considerable debate regarding which manuscripts actually represent his work, whether he intended to write single- or multi-movement sonatas, whether he intended them for the harpsichord or the new fortepiano, and how his sonatas should be cataloged. Regardless, there are well over 100 sonatas to choose from, with No. 84 in D major being a popular one among keyboardists.

Alicia de Larrocha - Soler: Sonata No. 84
 
 
Johann Christian Bach, aka “The London Bach,” one of J.S. Bach’s sons from his second marriage, wrote a few dozen keyboard sonatas. His sonatas are fine examples of the Classical era’s style galant, i.e. music that easily charms (some may call it ingratiating). Typically it features a singing melody over a straightforward accompaniment. J.C. Bach did specifically write for the fortepiano, having spent much of his life in England, one of the centers of fortepiano production.

Jörg Becker - J.C. Bach: Piano Sonata in D major, Op. 5/2 - Allegro di molto
 
 
Two composers who bridge the Classical and Romantic eras are Muzio Clementi and Jan Ladislav Dussek. As well as being a performer, Clementi was a composer, publisher, and piano manufacturer. The style and difficulty of his sonatas varies with the times at which they were written and with the intended performer, whether for himself to use in concert or a student to learn at home. His later sonatas pick up some of the drama showing up in Beethoven’s music.

Jos van Immerseel - Clementi: Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 13/6 - Presto
Vladimir Horowitz - Clementi: Piano Sonata in F sharp minor, Op. 26/2 - Lento e patetico
Pietro Spada - Clementi: Piano Sonata in G minor (”Didone abbandonata”), Op. 50/3 - Allegro agitato e con disperazione
 
 
Czech composer Dussek was also an early concertizing virtuoso. As such, his 40-50 sonatas (depending on how you count various publications), can be a bit showy, and are often compared to the writing of Weber, Liszt, and many others. But what sets him apart is that he was composing with Romantic sensibilities before the Romantic period. His expressive melodies, interesting modulations, and richer textures went beyond what Classical audiences were used to hearing.
 
 
Markus Becker - Dussek: Piano Sonata in F sharp minor (”Elégie Harmonique”), Op. 61 - Tempo vivace e con fuoco quasi presto
Markus Becker - Dussek: Piano Sonata in A flat major (”La retour à Paris;” “Plus ultra”), Op. 64 - Molto adagio con anima ed espressione
 
 
The Romantic era was when the piano came into its own and was found everywhere. Character pieces, stylized dances, etudes, and other stand-alone works dominated the period. Multi-movement suites and sonatas were less frequently found among all the other things in most composers’ work lists. Carl Maria von Weber wrote four sonatas; Felix Mendelssohn seven; Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms, three each; and Edvard Grieg one and Tchaikovsky two. All of these composers made their mark with the smaller piano pieces and/or more substantial works for larger forces (e.g. symphonies, operas, or ballets), and frequently their sonatas are viewed as being not quite up to the same standards. However, each still has its merits.
 
Weber’s tend toward the theatrical; Mendelssohn’s are full of the optimism and energy of his teenage years, while Schumann’s tend to display the trouble he had writing multi-movement pieces.

Michael Endres - Weber: Piano Sonata No. 2 in A flat major, Op. 39 - Allegro moderato
Michael Endres - Weber: Piano Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 49 - Rondo Presto

Frederic Chiu - Mendelssohn: Piano Sonata in E major, Op. 6 - 1. Allegretto con espressione
Frederic Chiu - Mendelssohn: Piano Sonata in B flat major, Op. 106 - 1. Allegro vivace

Shura Cherkassky - Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 1 in F sharp minor (”Grosse Sonate”), Op. 11 - Finale
Juana Zayas - Schumann: Piano Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22 - 1. So rasch wie möglich
 
 
Brahms, like Mendelssohn, wrote his sonatas early in his career, never to return to the form. His sonatas are ambitious and large, with thematic and rhythmic links between movements and carefully planned relationships between keys.

Claudio Arrau - Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 2 in F sharp minor, Op. 2 - 1. Allegro non troppo
Claudio Arrau - Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 2 in F sharp minor, Op. 2 - 4. Finale
Claudio Arrau - Brahms: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5 - 1. Allegro maestoso
 
 
The Lyric Pieces of Grieg are so different from other Romantic piano music that his very traditional Sonata, Op. 7, is a surprise by comparison. It’s a very early work, an endeavor to conform to the traditions of European music made before he discovered his true talent lay in lyrical, folk-inflected piano miniatures. It is fairly conventional compared to his later music, but there is a bit of the northern sound in it, nonetheless, and it’s gained some popularity among fans of Grieg and Scandinavian music.

Antonio Pompa-Baldi - Grieg: Piano Sonata in E minor, Op. 7 - 1. Allegro moderato
 
 
The first sonata that Tchaikovsky wrote, but which was published posthumously, was a student work with some of the same melodic charm as his mature pieces. On the other hand, the later Sonata, Op.37, is often described as not being up to Tchaikovsky’s usual level of tunefulness, and, therefore, is dismissed by musicologists, but it still seems to find some popularity among pianists.

Yakov Kasman - Tchaikovsky: Piano Sonata in G major, Op. 37 - Moderato e risoluto
 
 
Among the Post-Romantics, and into the 20th century, the sonatas that tend to stand out more are Rachmaninov’s two, the four of American Edward MacDowell, and the sonatas of Rachmaninov’s much lesser-known friend Nikolai Medtner. In both of Rachmaninov’s sonatas, the movements flow into one another, demanding a lot of effort from the performer physically and musically. The second is many times more popular, even in its different versions, than the first.
 
 
Alexis Weissenberg - Rachmaninov: Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28 - Allegro molto
Hélène Grimaud - Rachmaninov: Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 36 - 1. Allegro agitato
 
 
Edward MacDowell was perhaps the first American composer whose music could hold its own among that of the great 19th century composers, which isn’t surprising since he received most of his musical education in Europe. His four sonatas are all programmatic, heroic, grand works often compared to Liszt’s Sonata in B minor and Grieg’s music. They are in the German Romantic style, with thematic links between movements, and as challenging as the more well-known Romantic sonatas.

Sandra Carlock - MacDowell: Piano Sonata No. 2 in G minor (”Eroica”), Op. 50 - 1. Slow, with nobility
James Barbagallo - MacDowell: Piano Sonata No. 3 in D minor (”Norse”), Op. 57 - Mesto, ma con passione
 
 
You’re more likely to hear of the music of Nikolai Medtner in Russia and England, the two countries where he lived, than anywhere else. His sonatas also have a lot in common with the Germanic Romantic styles. Basically, his sound can be thought of as a mash-up between the harmonies and passion of Rachmaninov and the thematic and motivic development of Brahms. Not only are the links between movements, but Medtner also would create links between the sonatas in a single opus.
 
Emil Gilels - Medtner: Sonata-Reminiscenza for piano in A minor, Op. 38/1
Marc-André Hamelin - Medtner: Sonaten-Triade, Op. 11 - Sonata No. 1 in A flat major
Marc-André Hamelin - Medtner: Sonaten-Triade, Op. 11 - Sonata No. 2 in D minor (Sonata-Elegy)
 
 
Moving fully into the 20th century, things get very interesting, and it’s probably easiest to look at sonatas by country or region.
 
The Polish composer Karol Szymanowski wrote much early in the century, but his music is closer to that of the modern era than the Post Romantic. Scriabin, Reger, and Chopin were just some of his influences, with the Scriabin coming through more in his three sonatas.

Piotr Anderszewski - Szymanowski: Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 36 - Presto
 
 
 
Contemporary with Szymanowski is Czech composer Leos Janácek. His sonata subtitled “From the Street, Oct. 10, 1905″ is a depiction of a protest, which started out peaceful but resulted with a carpenter killed by a soldier’s bayonet. Janácek destroyed his original manuscript, but the pianist who premiered the piece managed to copy out the first two movements, which is what Janacek later published.

Ivo Kahánek - Janacek: Piano Sonata, JW 8/19 - The Presentiment
Ivo Kahánek - Janacek: Piano Sonata, JW 8/19 - Death
 
 
Just two years later, Alban Berg began work on his Piano Sonata, Op. 1, his first published work. It’s a single movement work, with structure based on conventional forms and harmony that utilizes all 12 tones, as would be expected for this sonata, written under the aegis of Berg’s teacher, Arnold Schoenberg. (The 12-tone system, a serial technique, is not present in the sonata. Schoenberg did not formulate the system until 1915, seven years after Berg’s publication.)

Pierre-Laurent Aimard - Berg: Piano Sonata, Op. 1
 
 
In Eastern Europe, there are significant sonatas in the oeuvres of Stravinsky and Shostakovich, and you may not have heard of Dmitry Kabalevsky. Stravinsky, like so many others, has an early, unpublished (during his lifetime) sonata and a later one. It’s the later one that is the more important of the two. He looked to the Baroque for it, and the Baroque meaning of the term “sonata,” more than the Classical period, which inspired so much of his other music.
 
 
Michel Béroff - Stravinsky: Sonata for piano - 1. Allegro
Michel Béroff - Stravinsky: Sonata for piano - 3. Andante
 
 
Shostakovich also wrote two sonatas, and, once again, it’s the second that has proved to be more enduring, with the first often described as being musically “difficult” from the listener’s standpoint. The second is more in keeping with the sound world and temperaments of Shostakovich’s symphonies and concertos, on a smaller scale of course.

Emil Gilels - Shostakovich: Piano Sonata No. 2 in B minor, Op. 61 - Allegretto
 
 
Dmitry Kabalevsky wrote dozens of small piano pieces for young students, including a couple of sonatinas, which is how most who do know of him have encountered his name. He wrote three sonatas, which, although intended for mature pianists and fully representing his stylistic development over the years, can also be said to be less adventuresome than the music of his compatriots and contemporaries. This isn’t too surprising given the times he lived in, when every artist’s work was subjected to the whims of the Soviet leaders.

Alexandre Dossin - Kabalevsky: Piano Sonata No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 45 - Presto assai
Alexandre Dossin - Kabalevsky: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F major, Op. 46 - Allegro con moto
 
 
In 20th century America, composers were finally able to gain footing equivalent to the Europeans. Among those, you’ll find sonatas by Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, Elliott Carter, and Samuel Barber.
 
Ives’ sonatas, just like most of his music, are sui generis, frequently quoting and juxtaposing familiar tunes in an utterly original way. His five-movement Sonata No. 1 contrasts the sacred with the secular, i.e. hymns with ragtime, while his “Concord” Sonata is more fully representational of his style of writing. Each of its four movements is an “impressionistic picture” of New England’s transcendentalist thinkers; Ives even published a companion set of essays for the sonata.

Marc-André Hamelin - Ives: Sonata No. 2 Concord, Mass., 1840-60 - Emerson
Marc-André Hamelin - Ives: Sonata No. 2 Concord, Mass., 1840-60 - Hawthorne
 
 
Those familiar with Copland’s Appalachian Spring, Rodeo, or Fanfare for the Common Man, will probably be surprised by the cooler, more abstract nature of his Piano Sonata. It follows, in its own way, a typical sonata-allegro - scherzo and trio - finale form, however, the tempos are the reverse of the traditional: slow - fast - slow.

Peter Lawson - Copland: Piano Sonata - 1. Molto moderato - Allegro
 
 
Elliot Carter’s and Samuel Barber’s sonatas both date from 1946. Barber’s is considered a highpoint of the form for the period, not just in the realm of American music, but within art music as a whole. It employs twelve-tone techniques combined with motivic development that recalls Beethoven. Carter’s uses chromaticism more assertively and adds a variety of sound possibilities dependent on touch and use of pedals as a dimension of its musical development.

Vladimir Horowitz - Barber: Piano Sonata, Op. 26 - 1. Allegro energico
Ursula Oppens - Carter: Piano Sonata - 1. Maestoso; Legato scorrevole
 
 
Pierre Boulez has written three sonatas, the first two of which refer back again to Beethoven, but in a highly cerebral way. He applied serial methods not just to tonality, but to note duration, dynamics, and attack. His still incomplete — or evolving — Piano Sonata No. 3 (two movements were published in 1961), introduces chance into the equation, as ordering of sections of the movements is left up to the performer.
 
Paavali Jumppanen - Boulez: Piano Sonata No. 2 - 1. Extrêmement rapide
Paavali Jumppanen - Boulez: Piano Sonata No. 3 - Formant 3: Constellation
 
 
Finally, Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera also composed three sonatas, the first of which has become something of a favorite. It employs chromaticism, but it’s the folk rhythms and melodies and the virtuosity of it that excite listeners and performers alike. The other two sonatas, coming 30 years after the first, embody his mature, idiosyncratic style, which more freely or conceptually uses native elements, but can be just as invigorating.
 
 
Fernando Viani - Ginastera: Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 22 - 2. Presto misterioso
Fernando Viani - Ginastera: Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 35 - 1. Allegramente
 
 
This gives you the briefest of introductions to the world of piano sonatas, the bare bones basics. And I haven’t even mentioned the sonatas of Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Paul Dukas, Richard Strauss, Ignace Jan Paderewski, Charles Tomlinson Griffes, George Antheil, Paul Hindemith, Henri Dutilleux, John Cage, and so many others. Finding the right performer who can bring out the best in the music is often more important with these lesser known composers and sonatas than it is with the more popular ones, so you should definitely use the links here to find out more about the sonatas and the available recordings. Enjoy the adventure!